Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-11-24
PUBLIC LAND.
The Rights of Settlers Defined by the
Attorney General.
WASHINGTON, November 23.-The fol-
lowing important opinion was made public
yesterday:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
WASHINGTON, November II.

yesterday:
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
WASHINGTON, November II.
"7he Secretary Of the Interior:
tSIR-By your letter of October ls,
1887, you submit three questions for my
opinion. They arise upon the construction
of sections 3, and OF the act of the Sd of
March, 1887, which, as shown by its title,
as whole, was passed To provide for the
! adjustment Of land grants made by Con-
gress, to aid in the construction of rail-
roads, and for the forfeiture of unearned
lands, and for other purposes The first
section Of the act directs adjustment of the
grants. The second section provides for
the restoration of title to the United States
where lands have been enormously certified
or patented to the railroads The third sec
tion is that, if in the adjustment of said
grants it shall appear that the homestead
or preemption entry of any bona fide set
tier has been enormously Cancelled on
account of any railroad grant, or the with
drawakaf public lands from market, each
settler, upon application, shall be reinsta-
ted in all his rights and allowed to perfect
his entry by complying with the public
land laws, provided that he has not located
another claim or made an entry in lieu Of
the one so enormously cancelled, and pro-
vided, also, that he did not voluntarily
abandon said original entry; and provided,
further, that if any Of said settlers do not
renew their application to be reinstated
within reasonable time, to he fixed by
the Secretary of the Interior, then all such
unclaimed lands shall be disposed of under
the public land laws, with priority fright
given to bona fide purchasers of said un-
claimed land, if any, and, if there be no
such purchaser, then TO bona fide settlers
residing thereon"
The Attorney General then says three
classes of persons are provided for under
this section, first, bona fide settlers whose
homestead or pre-emption entries have
been enormously cancelled on account of
railroad grants or Withdrawals; second,
bona ide purchasers OF such unclaimed
lands; third, bona tide settlers residing
thereon, and proceeds to define their
rights He holds that the first section of
the act, in the Use Of the word grant"
must have necessarily included both the
primary and indemdity lands in the ad-
justment, rs it was doubtless intended
that the adjustment should be a full and
final one The report concludes:
''The lands which, under the adjustment,
were found not TO be the property Of the
railroad, were intended to be free from the
cloud of claim by the railroad, and restored
to the public domain for disposition accord
ing to law. The intent of the act shows
that to carry out its purposes the word
grant" wherever used in the second,
third and fourth sections, must include the
lands in both primary and indemnity linn
its, as each directly, or by necessary impli
cation, refers 10 the adjustment provided
for in the first section. The protection
offered, and redress granted, the settler by
each OF the sections, is fully as important
in The idemnity aS the primary limits. In
order that the remedy may be adequate to
redress the wrong, the word. grant" in the
fifth section must be construed to include,
rs il does in the preceding sections of the
act, both primary and indemnity limits
Upon receipt of the opinion, Secretary
Lamar directed the Commissioner of the
General Land Office 10 proceed al once, and
with as much disnatch as possible to adjust
all land grants under the net of March 3,
lSi1. His instructions TO the Commission
ers are minute as to details and are in ac-
COrdance with the views of the Attorney
General as expressed in the foregoing.